Declaration by the presidency on behalf of the
EUconcerning death sentences in Iran

The EU condemns the increasing recourse to death sentences and executions in
the Islamic Republic of Iran. The EU also reiterates its longstanding opposition
to the death penalty in all circumstances. The EU is in favor of the universal
abolition of the death penalty and urges the Islamic Republic of Iran to abolish
the death penalty, if necessary by initially establishing a moratorium on
executions, in line with the UN General Assembly resolution adopted in December
2007 on a Moratorium on the use of the death penalty.

The EU is particularly concerned at the threat of imminent execution facing
Ms. Zohreh Kabiri, Ms. Azar Kabiri and Mr. Abdollah Farivar, who have been
sentenced to death by stoning. Despite the moratorium on stoning, which the EU
was informed of by the Iranian side during the second round of the EU-Iran human
rights dialogue in 2003, these punishments remain on the statute books in the
Islamic Republic of Iran and sentences are still handed down by judges and
carried out in practice. The EU urges the Iranian Government to abolish the use
of cruel and degrading punishments and to abolish immediately, in law and in
practice, the use of stoning as a method of execution - as called for in the
most recent UN General Assembly resolution on the Situation of human rights in
the Islamic Republic of Iran, adopted by the General Assembly in December
2007.

The EU is also deeply concerned about three cases of juvenile offenders who
have been sentenced to death. The EU notes that this is a direct contravention
of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s international commitments, specifically
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on
the Rights of the Child, both clearly prohibiting the execution of minors or
people who have been convicted of crimes committed when they were minors. The EU
urges the Islamic Republic of Iran to comply with International Law and to
immediately halt the executions of Mr Mahyar, Mr Mohammad Latif, Mr. Behnam Zare
and of all other juvenile offenders, taking in consideration alternative
sentences for juvenile offenders.

The EU is also dismayed at the handing down of death sentences to four
Iranians working for the customs authorities at Mehrabed Airport. The crimes of
the persons concerned were related to corruption. The EU reminds the Islamic
Republic of Iran that under international minimum standards for use of the death
penalty, it should only be applied in the case of the most serious crimes. Such
crimes do not include those related to corruption. The EU calls for the
immediate commutation of all the death sentences handed down in these
instances.

The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and
potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and
the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European
Economic Area, as well as Ukraine align themselves with this declaration.

* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part
of the Stabilisation and Association Process.